Wealth is relative to where you live. Some folks in San Francisco could have mortgage payments that force them to pinch pennies, even though their income would have them living large in Evanston, Illinois.

So where are people actually wealthy in terms of income, home value and credit availability? To find out, NerdWallet analyzed 475 American cities with at least 65,000 people. We looked at:

The median household income and percent of homes without a mortgage, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey.

The monthly median home value as reported in February 2016 by Zillow Research.

The average credit limit for credit card holders as reported in 2016 by credit bureau Experian.

Get Your Free Credit Score

NerdWallet’s analysis

California cities were at the top of every category, and nine of the 10 of what our analysis is terming the “wealthiest” cities in the nation were in California. One Southern city made the top 10: Bethesda, Maryland. Its median home value of $808,800 topped that of several California cities in the top 10, and the city placed second among all cities measured for average credit limit and median household income.

The average credit card limit offers insight into how much credit an average resident has access to from day to day. The average credit limit for all 475 cities measured was around $35,800. Newport Beach, California, ranked highest, with an average credit limit of almost $83,000 for credit card holders. While Californians could access more credit than cardholders anywhere else, the average credit limit for the top 10 cities in each region fell between $45,000 and $69,000. Northeasterners had the lowest credit limits, with four of the top 10 cities in that region falling below $40,000.

Midwestern cities were among the most affordable for housing. The Midwest top 10 contains five suburbs of Chicago, which is the third most populous city in America. These suburbs had lower median home values and strong median household incomes compared with the rest of the country. This means residents of these places spend less on housing, giving them more buying power compared with other regions.

Let’s take a look, region by region:

Wealthiest cities in the Northeast

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

Rank

City

Median household income

Median home value

Percent of homes with no mortgage

Average credit limit

Total score

1.

Newton, Massachusetts

$102,796

$886,400

35%

$70,822

82.82

2.

Stamford, Connecticut

$88,686

$447,900

28%

$50,904

64.13

3.

New Rochelle, New York

$72,353

$629,600

32%

$52,159

59.71

4.

Cambridge, Massachusetts

$84,249

$649,000

32%

$39,997

58.80

5.

Norwalk, Connecticut

$75,285

$373,300

27%

$47,736

56.91

6.

Framingham, Massachusetts

$64,213

$347,200

27%

$45,891

51.17

7.

Somerville, Massachusetts

$74,048

$537,500

30%

$31,967

50.40

8.

Boston, Massachusetts

$56,902

$480,000

25%

$33,548

50.38

9.

Danbury, Connecticut

$69,394

$245,700

26%

$38,628

47.48

10.

Toms River, New Jersey

$72,236

$251,700

31%

$46,642

46.97

11.

Brentwood, New York

$65,032

$243,500

19%

$21,254

46.25

12.

Quincy, Massachusetts

$68,409

$375,400

31%

$36,363

44.50

13.

Nashua, New Hampshire

$70,521

$236,800

30%

$40,113

44.30

14.

Warwick, Rhode Island

$64,455

$187,600

28%

$40,600

42.79

15.

Jersey City, New Jersey

$60,497

$346,500

26%

$27,169

42.61

16.

Clifton, New Jersey

$67,191

$304,200

32%

$37,260

41.70

17.

New York, New York

$52,996

$614,500

38%

$41,038

41.43

18.

Lynn, Massachusetts

$52,481

$271,200

23%

$25,725

40.32

19.

Manchester, New Hampshire

$53,082

$196,900

26%

$32,575

38.94

20.

Cranston, Rhode Island

$51,520

$208,500

30%

$44,943

38.92

In the Northeast, Newton, a suburb west of Boston, topped the list. Newton’s high average credit limit and high median home value placed it well ahead of the other top 10 cities. The average credit limit in Newton was $70,822, almost $19,000 higher than the city with the next highest figure, New Rochelle. Newton’s median home value was $886,400 — over $200,000 more than Cambridge, which had the second-highest median home value in the Northeast, at $649,000.

Boston and its suburbs comprise half of the top 10 in the Northeast. Three of the Massachusetts cities are college towns: Cambridge is home to MIT and Harvard; Somerville to the research university Tufts; and Boston to Boston University.

Connecticut took three spots in the Northeast’s top 10. All three cities — Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury — are in Fairfield County and are part of the New York metropolitan area. Each of these cities is home to at least one Fortune 500 company. Charter Communications is headquartered in Stamford, Xerox has its main offices in Norwalk, and industrial gas company Praxair is in Danbury.

Wealthiest cities in the South

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

Rank

City

Median household income

Median home value

Percent of homes with no mortgage

Average credit limit

Total score

1.

Bethesda, Maryland

$149,623

$808,800

33%

$78,539

86.62

2.

Ellicott City, Maryland

$114,801

$488,200

23%

$65,738

69.24

3.

Arlington, Virginia

$109,266

$606,400

21%

$46,720

64.83

4.

Flower Mound, Texas

$125,378

$337,900

19%

$51,142

62.20

5.

Centreville, Virginia

$102,331

$376,200

9%

$45,725

61.81

6.

Frisco, Texas

$115,603

$359,100

16%

$43,985

59.79

7.

Alexandria, Virginia

$86,809

$491,600

20%

$44,557

55.91

8.

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

$82,358

$388,800

21%

$55,029

55.49

9.

Columbia, Maryland

$99,719

$329,700

19%

$47,884

55.20

10.

Rockville, Maryland

$90,606

$458,900

26%

$50,497

55.05

11.

Franklin, Tennessee

$80,536

$393,400

23%

$56,078

54.85

12.

Gaithersburg, Maryland

$79,988

$338,300

17%

$50,023

53.72

13.

Allen, Texas

$102,466

$272,000

17%

$44,377

53.61

14.

Cary, North Carolina

$92,000

$306,700

21%

$51,651

53.47

15.

Roswell, Georgia

$80,125

$324,500

23%

$57,312

52.78

16.

Germantown, Maryland

$82,527

$282,600

12%

$39,444

50.30

17.

Waldorf, Maryland

$80,069

$262,100

9%

$31,851

47.67

18.

Silver Spring, Maryland

$72,412

$364,300

22%

$38,271

45.14

19.

Frederick, Maryland

$69,476

$252,700

17%

$40,335

44.50

20.

Pearland, Texas

$101,211

$216,400

24%

$35,335

43.98

Bethesda claimed the top spot in this category. The median income for Bethesda households was almost $150,000, the second-highest of all U.S. cities reviewed for this study. It trailed only Newport Beach, California, for the highest average credit limit for credit card holders. And Bethesda’s median home value was $808,800, the highest among any Southern city by a mile. Only Arlington came close, with a median home value of $606,400, still just 75% of the median in Bethesda.

Bethesda is home to the National Institutes of Health and the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, as well as hospitality companies Host Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International and Ritz-Carlton. Nearby Rockville is home to Choice Hotels and other hospitality and health companies.

Bethesda, Arlington and Alexandria are all “inside the Beltway,” which means they’re within Interstate 495 near Washington, D.C. Arlington is home to federal government agencies, including the Department of Defense, and Alexandria is the location of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Wealthiest cities in the Midwest

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

Rank

City

Median household income

Median home price

Percent of homes with no mortgage

Average credit limit

Total score

1.

Naperville, Illinois

$104,419

$364,300

23%

$67,075

93.06

2.

Carmel, Indiana

$109,375

$296,600

22%

$62,910

88.41

3.

Arlington Heights, Illinois

$78,988

$312,000

33%

$57,426

70.89

4.

Evanston, Illinois

$73,671

$315,600

28%

$53,502

70.60

5.

Fishers, Indiana

$91,262

$209,700

15%

$40,441

69.97

6.

Troy, Michigan

$83,921

$269,100

31%

$48,941

66.43

7.

Palatine, Illinois

$70,328

$237,900

28%

$54,063

64.57

8.

Olathe, Kansas

$77,008

$204,300

18%

$38,164

62.52

9.

Bolingbrook, Illinois

$73,333

$197,400

15%

$36,439

62.44

10.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

$60,337

$320,900

32%

$43,296

60.19

11.

Skokie, Illinois

$76,867

$255,300

35%

$45,716

58.93

12.

Schaumburg, Illinois

$71,946

$207,100

28%

$46,056

58.86

13.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

$50,791

$206,700

24%

$40,204

52.30

14.

Waukesha, Wisconsin

$57,179

$190,000

25%

$39,104

51.69

15.

Aurora, Illinois

$68,304

$152,800

18%

$28,863

51.65

16.

Madison, Wisconsin

$55,829

$209,200

27%

$34,625

49.40

17.

Livonia, Michigan

$68,668

$168,100

32%

$37,554

47.98

18.

Bismarck, North Dakota

$60,752

$264,400

41%

$37,971

47.46

19.

Elgin, Illinois

$60,810

$158,900

24%

$28,787

46.10

20.

Bloomington, Illinois

$59,614

$152,300

30%

$35,777

44.91

Chicago is the largest city in the Midwest, and five of its suburbs —Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Evanston, Naperville and Palatine — made the region’s top 10. The Midwest is the most affordable region if you’re looking to live in one of the wealthiest cities. Modest home values characterize the Midwest; all of the cities in the top 10 had a median home value between $197,000 and $365,000. It may not sound “modest” to everyone, but Naperville’s median home value, at close to $365,000, is less than half that of Carlsbad, California, the city with the lowest median home value in the West’s top 10.

Based on these home values, one might assume that median household income in the Midwest would also be lower, but income for all of the top 10 Midwest cities was competitive with that of other cities at the top of our lists.

Wealthiest cities in the West

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the region’s top 20 cities.

Rank

City

Median household income

Median home value

Percent of homes with no mortgage

Average credit limit

Total score

1.

Palo Alto, California

$151,370

$2,503,600

34%

$71,696

79.80

2.

San Ramon, California

$135,355

$931,300

12%

$64,392

72.38

3.

Pleasanton, California

$122,652

$961,000

19%

$73,557

69.06

4.

Newport Beach, California

$106,801

$1,561,400

31%

$82,811

66.94

5.

Yorba Linda, California

$117,368

$781,500

19%

$72,395

65.20

6.

Laguna Niguel, California

$96,732

$776,600

18%

$72,823

61.98

7.

Redondo Beach, California

$110,451

$916,300

20%

$55,991

58.71

8.

Redwood City, California

$87,255

$1,247,200

24%

$67,102

58.34

9.

Carlsbad, California

$104,424

$740,200

21%

$62,555

57.25

10.

San Clemente, California

$98,710

$851,200

24%

$66,663

56.70

11.

Thousand Oaks, California

$97,291

$668,800

21%

$66,748

56.63

12.

Fremont, California

$106,921

$890,400

23%

$56,099

55.41

13.

San Mateo, California

$101,229

$1,044,000

28%

$62,380

55.06

14.

Mission Viejo, California

$103,607

$659,600

21%

$57,869

54.47

15.

Mountain View, California

$100,318

$1,417,700

29%

$51,032

53.56

16.

Chino Hills, California

$99,601

$586,600

17%

$51,321

53.22

17.

Santa Monica, California

$82,096

$1,311,300

28%

$58,745

52.28

18.

Lake Forest, California

$96,655

$649,100

17%

$46,927

51.74

19.

Irvine, California

$90,743

$784,500

22%

$55,715

51.37

20.

Livermore, California

$87,815

$692,300

18%

$52,010

51.29

In the Western states, California dominated the list of wealthiest cities. At the top was Palo Alto, home to Stanford University and tech companies such as Tesla Motors, VMware and Palantir Technologies. The rest of the cities were divided among the San Francisco Bay Area — San Ramon, Pleasanton and Redwood City are all home to tech companies and their executives — and Southern California. Four cities in Orange County made the list: Newport Beach, Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente.

The average credit limit for Newport Beach residents was $82,811, almost $10,000 higher than Pleasanton, the West’s runner-up in that category. Palo Alto boasted the highest median home value among all the U.S. cities analyzed, at $2.5 million. Despite that high price tag, 34% of those homes were owned without a mortgage, the highest percentage in the West’s top 10 and comparable to any other region in the country. In San Ramon, only 12% of homes were mortgage-free, which was the second-lowest among all Western cities and fourth-lowest nationwide.

Wealthiest cities nationwide

In the table below, scroll down and across to see data on the nation’s top 100 cities.

Rank

City

Median household income

Median home value

Percent of homes with no mortgage

Average credit limit

Total score

1

Palo Alto, California

$151,370

$2,503,600

34%

$71,696

81.94

2

San Ramon, California

$135,355

$931,300

12%

$64,392

72.68

3

Pleasanton, California

$122,652

$961,000

19%

$73,557

70.25

4

Newport Beach, California

$106,801

$1,561,400

31%

$82,811

69.61

5

Bethesda, Maryland

$149,623

$808,800

33%

$78,539

67.60

6

Yorba Linda, California

$117,368

$781,500

19%

$72,395

66.64

7

Laguna Niguel, California

$96,732

$776,600

18%

$72,823

63.56

8

Redwood City, California

$87,255

$1,247,200

24%

$67,101

60.77

9

Redondo Beach, California

$110,451

$916,300

20%

$55,991

60.45

10

Carlsbad, California

$104,424

$740,200

21%

$62,555

59.23

11

San Clemente, California

$98,710

$851,200

24%

$66,663

59.05

12

Ellicott City, Maryland

$114,801

$488,200

23%

$65,738

58.90

13

Thousand Oaks, California

$97,291

$668,800

21%

$66,748

58.69

14

San Mateo, California

$101,229

$1,044,000

28%

$62,380

57.82

15

Fremont, California

$106,921

$890,400

23%

$56,099

57.64

16

Mission Viejo, California

$103,607

$659,600

21%

$57,869

56.54

17

Mountain View, California

$100,318

$1,417,700

29%

$51,032

56.50

18

Flower Mound, Texas

$125,378

$337,900

19%

$51,142

56.07

19

Naperville, Illinois

$104,419

$364,300

23%

$67,075

55.80

20

Newton, Massachusetts

$102,796

$886,400

35%

$70,822

55.71

21

Centreville, Virginia

$102,331

$376,200

9%

$45,725

55.44

22

Carmel, Indiana

$109,375

$296,600

22%

$62,910

55.41

23

Santa Monica, California

$82,096

$1,311,300

28%

$58,745

55.31

24

Chino Hills, California

$99,601

$586,600

17%

$51,321

54.94

25

Sunnyvale, California

$104,681

$1,366,400

32%

$48,781

54.53

26

Irvine, California

$90,743

$784,500

22%

$55,715

53.79

27

Frisco, Texas

$115,603

$359,100

16%

$43,985

53.73

28

Lake Forest, California

$96,655

$649,100

17%

$46,927

53.52

29

Livermore, California

$87,815

$692,300

18%

$52,010

53.30

30

Arlington, Virginia

$109,266

$606,400

21%

$46,720

52.96

31

Kirkland, Washington

$94,332

$521,500

22%

$56,462

52.35

32

Milpitas, California

$102,917

$818,100

24%

$45,904

51.72

33

Folsom, California

$100,348

$467,100

18%

$45,719

51.35

34

Bellevue, Washington

$95,146

$660,400

31%

$62,439

50.88

35

Alameda, California

$86,888

$845,900

27%

$53,547

50.21

36

San Francisco, California

$85,070

$1,115,700

30%

$51,473

50.01

37

Columbia, Maryland

$99,719

$329,700

19%

$47,884

49.82

38

Santa Clara, California

$91,080

$988,500

25%

$43,738

49.81

39

Allen, Texas

$102,466

$272,000

17%

$44,377

49.73

40

San Jose, California

$87,210

$810,000

24%

$48,324

49.46

41

Santa Barbara, California

$62,340

$1,073,000

30%

$63,122

49.39

42

Santa Clarita, California

$81,577

$468,300

18%

$48,865

48.75

43

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

$82,358

$388,800

21%

$55,029

48.55

44

Cary, North Carolina

$92,000

$306,700

21%

$51,651

48.508

45

Simi Valley, California

$82,168

$514,200

19%

$47,948

48.507

46

Gaithersburg, Maryland

$79,988

$338,300

17%

$50,023

48.29

47

Camarillo, California

$85,640

$564,600

26%

$55,631

48.23

48

Huntington Beach, California

$84,915

$735,600

29%

$55,065

48.21

49

Franklin, Tennessee

$80,536

$393,400

23%

$56,078

47.77

50

Temecula, California

$80,753

$408,400

13%

$40,141

47.76

51

Berkeley, California

$70,364

$1,001,700

31%

$55,700

47.33

52

Roswell, Georgia

$80,125

$324,500

23%

$57,312

47.22

53

Alexandria, Virginia

$86,809

$491,600

20%

$44,557

47.14

54

South San Francisco, California

$86,191

$812,000

29%

$49,053

46.99

55

Walnut Creek, California

$76,311

$781,600

37%

$67,019

46.88

56

Germantown, Maryland

$82,527

$282,600

12%

$39,444

46.75

57

Rockville, Maryland

$90,606

$458,900

26%

$50,497

46.64

58

Fishers, Indiana

$91,262

$209,700

15%

$40,441

46.35

59

Union City, California

$83,861

$707,800

26%

$46,887

46.28

60

Orange, California

$75,803

$613,000

22%

$46,586

46.03

61

Gilbert, Arizona

$84,153

$282,300

14%

$39,358

45.94

62

Scottsdale, Arizona

$73,387

$412,400

30%

$65,004

45.73

63

Pasadena, California

$70,873

$714,900

25%

$50,607

45.72

64

Stamford, Connecticut

$88,686

$447,900

28%

$50,904

45.26

65

Waldorf, Maryland

$80,069

$262,100

9%

$31,851

45.08

66

Elk Grove, California

$81,768

$360,000

15%

$35,990

44.37

67

Tustin, California

$67,344

$638,500

21%

$43,657

44.21

68

Rancho Cucamonga, California

$71,742

$445,200

16%

$39,123

43.95

69

Daly City, California

$80,885

$750,300

27%

$40,918

43.59

70

Burbank, California

$65,398

$691,400

23%

$44,060

43.48

71

Tracy, California

$77,798

$413,700

15%

$33,154

43.42

72

Roseville, California

$80,658

$390,900

22%

$42,575

43.26

73

Boulder, Colorado

$62,797

$631,200

32%

$60,206

42.77

74

Chandler, Arizona

$73,062

$265,300

18%

$41,883

42.67

75

Seattle, Washington

$70,975

$536,700

25%

$46,047

42.14

76

League City, Texas

$98,578

$214,900

22%

$35,266

41.99

77

Pearland, Texas

$101,211

$216,400

24%

$35,335

41.95

78

New Rochelle, New York

$72,353

$629,600

32%

$52,159

41.92

79

Torrance, California

$80,198

$730,500

31%

$44,209

41.85

80

Napa, California

$68,307

$537,600

27%

$48,385

41.81

81

Frederick, Maryland

$69,476

$252,700

17%

$40,335

41.767

82

Bolingbrook, Illinois

$73,333

$197,400

15%

$36,439

41.6995

83

Corona, California

$69,407

$416,500

16%

$34,856

41.6991

84

Evanston, Illinois

$73,671

$315,600

28%

$53,502

41.47

85

Arlington Heights, Illinois

$78,988

$312,000

33%

$57,426

41.46

86

Chino, California

$79,218

$426,100

19%

$33,263

41.44

87

Lakewood, California

$81,106

$502,700

24%

$36,249

41.29

88

Norwalk, Connecticut

$75,285

$373,300

27%

$47,736

41.20

89

Olathe, Kansas

$77,008

$204,300

18%

$38,164

41.13

90

Murrieta, California

$76,766

$371,200

19%

$34,675

41.07

91

Renton, Washington

$67,626

$359,600

22%

$43,273

40.67

92

Palatine, Illinois

$70,328

$237,900

28%

$54,063

40.66

93

Sandy, Utah

$83,399

$266,100

27%

$44,244

40.35

94

Virginia Beach, Virginia

$68,816

$248,500

20%

$41,826

40.16

95

Glendale, California

$51,020

$718,600

24%

$43,563

40.14

96

Costa Mesa, California

$66,820

$698,000

25%

$38,261

40.12

97

Troy, Michigan

$83,921

$269,100

31%

$48,941

40.11

98

Cambridge, Massachusetts

$84,249

$649,000

32%

$39,997

39.95

99

Silver Spring, Maryland

$72,412

$364,300

22%

$38,271

39.90

100

San Diego, California

$67,799

$531,700

25%

$40,966

39.84

Methodology

We analyzed data from 475 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 that had data available for all four categories. We calculated overall scores using four measures, each weighted as 25% of the score:

Average credit limit for those with credit cards as of 2016 was taken from the latest data reported by Experian.

Monthly median home value in a particular geographical region in February 2016 as reported by Zillow Research.

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